The field of the invention generally relates to docking cradles for handheld computing devices, and more particularly, to a docking cradle for a handheld computing device which can mount to a vertical mounting surface or a horizontal mounting surface in which the computing device is in the same orientation.
Many vehicles of common carriers, such as airplanes, passenger trains, buses, cruise ships, and the like, have individualized functional equipment dedicated to a particular passenger seat which can be utilized by the passenger, such as video and/or audio entertainment systems, adjustable seats, adjustable environmental controls, adjustable lighting, telephony systems, crew communication systems, and the like. For example, many commercial airplanes have individualized video and audio entertainment systems, often referred to as “in-flight entertainment” or “IFE” systems.
As one example of a passenger seat function, the entertainment systems (e.g., an IFE system) for passenger carrier vehicles, such as commercial airlines, often include in-seat video display units installed at each passenger seat. For instance, video display units may be mounted at each of the seatbacks of the passenger seats. The entertainment system includes a centralized entertainment system server which is networked to each of the video display units via a communication network. The entertainment system server distributes media content (e.g., videos, audio, movies, television shows, etc.) to each of the video display units. Generally, the entertainment system allows each passenger to select from multiple video channels and/or audio channels, or even individually select and play videos and/or audio from a library of videos and audio content. The video displays may also provide games, communication applications (e.g., telephone service, messaging, etc.), internet browsing, and other computer applications. In some systems, the video displays may be smart monitors which can run computer applications and process and store data internally.
To operate the seat functions, such as the video display system, environmental controls, seat adjustment, etc., controls are provided on or near the passenger seat that allow the passenger to control the seat functions. The controls may be physical buttons, or on-screen interfaces displayed, for instance, on a touchscreen of the video display unit, or on a separate controller having a touchscreen display. For example, some commercial airplane entertainment systems have on-screen interfaces for controlling a reading light, activating a crew member call signal, as well as controlling the audio/video entertainment. Some systems utilize a tethered handheld controller which is connected via a cable to the video display unit or to an arm rest of the passenger seat. The cable electrically connects the handheld controller to the video display unit and also physically connects the controller to the seat location. Tethering of the handheld controller allows a passenger to conveniently hold the controller for controlling the seat functions, while also preventing the controller from being removed by the passenger from the particular seat, or from the vehicle itself. However, tethering the controller also has a number of shortcomings. The tethering cable can be a nuisance which interferes with the ingress/egress of adjacent passengers and access to a seatback tray or other articles in and around the seat, and also limits the range in which the controller can be located such as when a passenger reclines a seat or moves further from the tethered location.
In order to overcome some of the drawbacks of tethered handheld controllers, wireless handheld controllers have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,584,846, discloses a docking cradle for holding and locking a wireless, handheld controller in the cradle. The controller has a form factor similar to a mobile phone. The docking cradle has a recessed area for receiving and holding the controller. The cradle has a locking tab which retains the controller in the cradle. The locking tab is coupled to a manually actuated button to actuate the locking tab to release the controller from the cradle. The cradle also has an electronically controlled lock which locks and unlocks the button from being actuated to release the controller. The electronically controlled lock is controlled by a printed circuit board (PCB) attached to a support structure on the bottom of the cradle. The PCB activates the electronically controlled lock in response to a lock/unlock control signal from a crew management terminal. As the cradle and support structure for the PCB are integrated, the cradle and PCB are not separable to provide multiple mounting options. In addition, releasing the controller from the cradle requires manually actuating button, and therefore the cradle cannot fully release the controller electronically.